Participating in Discussion Forums

Monitoring a Discussion Forum and Viewing Discussion Topics 

1. Log in to Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
2. On the Brightspace homepage, locate your course in one of the following ways:
   • • Click on the course tile under the My Courses widget.
     • Click the Course Selector Grid  and select the course from the drop-down menu. If you are enrolled in more than 20 courses, you can search for the course name using the search bar.
3. In the navbar, click Tools.
4. In the drop-down menu, select Discussions.
   

   NOTE: Forums will be in black text and each associated topic in blue text. Topics also contain an outline with columns indicating the threads, posts, and last post quick reference statistics.

   TIP: Unread posts that you have not clicked into will appear under posts in brackets in a blue font. You can quickly read unread posts by clicking the number in blue under posts.

5. Find the discussion topic you want to view. Click on the title. You will be redirected to the discussion topic webpage.
6. By default, you will view all discussion topic threads and they will be sorted with the most recent thread appearing at the top. You may configure these setting by clicking on the drop down arrows next to “Filter By” and “Sort By” on the header under the discussion topic description. Preferences include sorting and filtering by unread threads, newest threads, alphabetically, etc.
7. Click on the thread title to view a discussion thread.
   

   TIP: Even if another teaching assistant or the instructor has already replied to a student’s concern on the discussion forum, it is good practice to read through all unread threads and replies to be aware of questions/ topics that were asked.

Creating a Discussion Thread

1. Log in to Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
2. On the Brightspace homepage, locate your course in one of the following ways:
   • • Click on the course tile under the My Courses widget.
     • Click the Course Selector Grid  and select the course from the drop-down menu. If you are enrolled in more than 20 courses, you can search for the course name using the search bar.
3. In the navbar, click Tools.
4. In the drop-down menu, select Discussions.
5. Click the discussion topic where you want to create a thread.
6. Click Start a New Thread.
7. Enter a subject.
8. Enter your content in the HTML Text Editor.
9. Enable/Disable any of the following posting options:
   • To keep the thread at the top of the list, select the Pin Thread checkbox.
   • To post anonymously, select Post as Anonymous.
   • To receive updates on the thread using your selected notification method, select Subscribe to this thread.
   • To attach a file, in the Attachments area, click Browse to locate the file that you want to attach.
   • To attach an audio recording, in the Attachments area, click Record Audio > Record. To make adjustments to your microphone selection and volume, click Flash Settings. To listen to your recording, click Play. To erase your recording, click Clear. If you have prerecorded audio and are using a supported browser, you can drag audio files onto the attachments upload target.
   • To attach a video recording, in the Attachments area, click Record Video > Allow > Record. When you finish recording, click Stop. To erase your recording, click Clear. To add the recording, click Add. If you have pre-recorded video and are using a supported browser, you can drag video files onto the attachments upload target.
   • To post your thread to more than one topic, click Post to other topics. Click Add Topics. Select the topics that you want your thread to appear in. To post in every topic simultaneously, select the Select All check box and then click Add Topics.
10. Click Post.

Reply to a Thread

1. Log in to Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
2. On the Brightspace homepage, locate your course in one of the following ways:
   • • Click on the course tile under the My Courses widget.
     • Click the Course Selector Grid  and select the course from the drop-down menu. If you are enrolled in more than 20 courses, you can search for the course name using the search bar.

3. In the navbar, click Tools.
4. In the drop-down menu, select Discussions.
5. Locate the thread you want to reply to.
6. Do either of the following:
   • To reply to the main thread post, click Reply to Thread.
   • To reply to a particular post inside the thread, click Reply.
7. Enter your reply in the HTML Text Editor. To include the original post’s text in your reply, click the Add original post text
8. Set any of the following options:
   • To post anonymously, select Post as Anonymous.
   • To receive updates on the thread using your selected notification method, select Subscribe to this thread.
   • To attach a file, in the Attachments area, click Browse to locate the file you want to attach.
   • To attach an audio recording, in the Attachments area, click Record Audio > Record. If you have pre-recorded audio and are using a supported browser, you can drag audio files onto the attachments upload area.
   • To attach a video recording, in the Attachments area, click Record Video > Allow > Record.  If you have pre-recorded video and are using a supported browser, you can drag video files onto the attachments upload area.
9. Click Post.

You have now replied to a thread within a topic.